Reminder
by RanOutOfBatteries
Summary: Ciel's made up his mind. Sakura is to be his friend, and Sebastian his servant. (aka Sakura's dimension-hopping shenanigans. Nobody knows what the heck she is, so why not call herself a god?)
1. Chapter 1

Darn, I started a new story. Please enjoy.

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Chapter 1

Outside there was the sound of thunder, loud and penetrating in the gloomy fog of late summer. The cold, craggy feeling of stone underneath her feet was an unpleasant feeling, sticking to the bottom of her soles as she awoke to her senses ringing.

This had been all that she could remember from the old world - the scent of blood, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, danger and the wide-eyed picture of carnage as she looked out at the bodies of people she did not know. It came back to her in an instant, circling in the back of her mind like a vulture waiting to feast on flesh once again.

The feeling of being overwhelmed was commonplace to her now, but it still pulled at her mind in the most gruesome of ways when she guessed the torture these victims felt.

Sakura blinked. "What," she intoned.

The man in front of her gaped in awe, and around her the candles burned so hot that they melted the wax immediately, down to the very bottom. There were fading echoes of some sort of rhythmic chanting, the remnants of a holy ritual resounding and casting off into the nothingness as she saw bodies strewn across the floor, blood streaking on the walls in a haphazard manner.

It was a dimly-lit area, far smaller than the average battlefield and sick with the stench of iron. Sadness lurked here, the torturous indecency of cages and chains connected to wrists of some of the young children amongst the dead. Around her, sitting in elevated platform seats, men and women alike in black feathered masks shivered in fear, some clasping their hands together in a form of prayer. There were no signs of hostility, and two particular men standing in front of her seemed to be waiting with reverence.

The first person to speak to her began by stepping a foot closer, which Sakura did not feel very worried about. This feeling of danger, like electricity, came from somewhere out of sight. "D-demon," the masked figure cried out in a wavering voice. He spread his hands wide apart in a grandiose gesture, beseeching through his request. "Please, grant me eternal life and wealth!"

"No, please choose me!"

"God, forgive me."

"Please, O' great and powerful king of-"

"I'm not a demon," she replied resolutely, stepping out of the ring. Dark blood smudged under her feet, leaving behind trails of red. They had used fresh blood, and the boy lying dead on the altar was sliced open. His expression was not peaceful when he finally died, and the wound in his chest was unpleasant. "Who are you?"

The room was covered in shade, surrounded by dark, dark curtains that billowed around her as she walked. She eyed the entrance to the room, and with a flick of her hand the doors that had been closed shut now burst open, falling off their hinges with a loud _crash._ A loud exclamation of awe came from within the crowd, and as her eyes slowly came to them they shifted in place, uncomfortable with the closer scrutinization.

Her gaze finally went to a cage sitting parallel to the altar, rusted and tainted into a muddled grey. A young boy peered back at her, eyes wide and fearful with disjointed disbelief, and Sakura walked closer as the dots connected.

This child's eyes were obscured by black eyelashes, long and fluttering as he continued to stare in fearful terror. His face was wet from both tears and blood, huddled at the front of the bars but jerking back as she crouched down to meet him at the same height. None of the blood seemed to be his, fortunately, but there were old stains on his ragged shirt that she understood came from other acts of violence. Sakura blinked carefully.

Context filled her in as she fitted the pieces together through evidence. They seemed to have tortured the children. They then killed one of them to summon a great being, likely one with evil intention and a sense for corruption judging by what the people in the back were muttering.

She came to a final decision.

"One second," she told him calmly as if this was a minor contrivance, and she turned back on her heel to face the man. "You. I have something to ask."

He nervously peeked back behind him before turning to face her once more. "Did you offer the sacrifice?"

"Yes! I was-"

As soon as the enthusiastic reply left his lips, Sakura forced his head off of his body in a sharp cracking motion. The sound horrified the listeners, and the other man standing next to Sakura now trembled as he fell to his knees, shaking.

"What was his name?"

"W-who?"

The next person died with a gurgling scream, throat wrenched back to show the bone of the spinal cord as it jutted out in an unappealing manner. The crowd began to erupt in chaos, heading towards the exit in equal fervor, but in an instant she picked each of them off in a methodical, quiet ease that showed that she had done this before, many times. The title of civilian no longer mattered to her here, anyway. She was one of them; pretending to be, at least.

The last man was the one who had fallen, unmoving. She stepped closer and realized that he had stabbed a knife into his own heart, leaking blood and closing his eyes in a relieved and decided acceptance. She moved past him, observed the sacrifice on the altar one final time, and then unlatched the cage by breaking the lock apart with her fingers.

Sakura pulled open the gate and perched carefully next to the cage, tapping one bar to make a clinking noise.

"Hello," she murmured. The unnamed child looked back at her, unsure of whether to trust her or not. She knew how to treat for safety, however, and began gesturing for him to get out. "My name is-"

She paused for a fraction of a second, then continued easily, "Ra. What is yours?"

As she spoke her hands drew up and began glowing in a soft, healing light, pale green flooding into him and soaking up the damage. The assessment in his gaze quickly disappeared and the boy relaxed almost instantly, falling limp in her arms. The shaking shoulders told her that he had not been granted kindness for a long time, and with that she drew back and repeated the question.

"I'm making sure that you have not been injured with head trauma or have excessively undergone stress. It is a precaution as a healer. Please, tell me your name."

Bruises. Superficial cuts along his legs. Dark blood stains coming from the lower half of his body that told of internal rupturing. The child seemed to be favoring his back at the moment, towards the left side of his body. He did not show her it, but she knew there was something there.

The explanation cleared some of the haze and the boy sat up a bit straighter, mouth forming the words and stuttering through: "I-I am..."

His eyes roved over to the dead body on the altar, and he began shaking again. Sakura then remodeled her question: "Then, if it's alright with you, please tell me that boy's name. Any fond memory you have of him, tell me that too."

"...Ciel," he whispered finally, lips parting. "His name is Ciel. He was really strong, and he said that he would come with me and start a toy store when we became older."

"I see. He sounds like a wonderful brother. I am honored to know that."

She briefly assessed him as he gave a vague response. "A little tired, which we can fix as soon as you get back home," she grinned suddenly, clapping her hands together. He jumped. She crouched down and picked him up, much to his surprise. He tensed up a bit as she shifted around a bit so she could carry him on her back, but otherwise he remained calm.

This statement alone seemed to be the final catalyst to his shock. He began sobbing into her clothes as she stayed there with him, huddling deep in the craving for positive reinforcement. Sakura passed one hand over him again, checking through his arteries and organs without a single step of hesitation.

She finally stood up, helping him keep upright.

Her tongue drew over her teeth and she bared her face with a silent scowl, facing the unknown presence. She could feel it lurking still, waiting for its chance to come down. Her eyes widened with bloodlust and the boy behind her shivered, though he did not flinch. The room trembled as her magic billowed out, burning its grip deep into her skin and clinging tight. The tattoos on her forehead and upper arms started to form, black rivulets inking its way in.

Her hand flickered, and just like that the two disappeared.

Human eyesight may have struggled to find chakra, but once the two left a burning sensation made its way across the demon's back, and his eyes tracked where they had gone, heading at an inhuman speed towards the north. Recognizing two things, he started off and began moving leisurely after them. He had found this prey first and he was not keen on letting such a person take his chance away.

The twin's body lay still, and yet once the summoning had been formed the contract had been set for the child to fulfill. It would not be complete until the wishes were set.

The three left remaining were finally set.

-Reminder-

Sakura had not gotten there in time.

She had noticed the chakra signals dropping off one by one and departed as soon as she could, but there were barriers pulled up that she didn't understand and could not break through fast enough. However, she found an opening as soon as she felt it and shunshined her way inside.

They called it magic here in this world, strange happenings that were unexplainable to them but clear as day to her. The demons did not use any sort of ninjutsu that she knew from her old world, but the genjutsu they simply called 'illusions' were hailed as black magic and caused the fearful people of Britain to call them witches. It was a truly backwards country, but she stayed anyway.

She had only managed to save one of the two remaining. And that, in her eyes, was a failure. She felt incredibly useless and guilty of wallowing in her sorrows, so she uncorked a bottle of bitter-tasting alcohol that she had nabbed from the kitchen pantry within the Phantomhive mansion and downed it in one go.

After she cleaned the remainder of the wreckage up - there were bloodstains that even she could not remove, and those she covered up with carpet and furniture - and sent the boy off to bed, she pulled a blanket to the way-too-expensive couch and settled down as best she could. She put her face in her hands and did her best to breathe evenly, deep exhales of air to try and calm herself.

She knew what had happened. His chakra levels had shown severe signs of distress, both physical and mental damage in only a half hour. Trauma would definitely occur. Over the amount of bodies around the room, she could see similar marks on each of the children. The particular boy on the altar she instantly recognized as soon as she matched the body and face together, marking them as twins. In her split-second observation, she knew that one would definitely not survive.

She had retrieved the ring from her brother's corpse after seeing it in his system and decided to have it in safekeeping for now. Letting him see it would only worsen his state. She messed with her hair for a bit, trying to sort her thoughts out properly. There were more pressing matters at hand that she had to think through rationally, especially regarding that energy she felt when she noticed the other signal nearby.

By the time she had gotten to the cathedral, there was already one other outside signal trying to find a way in. She had fought with it for a brief moment, but in the end she had gotten the signal quicker than it had and she pulled herself to Ciel's side. It had lingered for a while longer before leaving, but Sakura had the sinking feeling that it had not given up its target just yet. She could not tell if it meant harm, but she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up when she had contact with its power.

It was terrifying.

She waited until she could feel the boy's signals even out before heading upstairs once again. She did not know if he was still terrified of her yet, but she knew that if she tried too hard to help it would backfire. Some people, when pushed too hard, would snap. She had seen it before, and she was not going to attempt to treat an injured civilian until he knew exactly what she was. After all, magic wasn't common enough in this world to be accepted at first sight, and he had seen too much in one day.

She passed one glowing green hand over his body, fading whatever cuts and bruises he had littered on his body. Her face changed minutely, knowing by the marks where exactly he had been violated. She placed one hand under him and felt for any remaining swelling on his back where the brand had marked him. His breathing evened out once she healed it over, and she got up slowly to leave.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, closing the door behind her. She inhaled and set her shoulders. Tomorrow would be a better day for both of them.

Rest came quickly, but it was then that she felt the tingling of something caressing her skin, which she ignored while thinking it had been the wind coming in through the window. If she had been thinking straight, she would've known that she had closed all of the windows beforehand while maintaining the house's condition.

She did not stir.

Sakura didn't remember drifting off, but when she woke up the light was trickling in through the windows and she squinted out blearily.

She stared outside at the rising sun for a while, arm half outstretched. She'd have to get up and make breakfast soon. She didn't think the boy ate anything yesterday, and she was sure he'd be hungry now. She got up and fumbled off to where she thought the kitchen would be, yawning as she went.

She'd learned that the food in Britain was amazing compared to the war rations she'd grown so used to back home, but nothing would compare to Ichiraku's ramen. She opened the fridge and examined its contents, assessing. She had grown accustomed to British recipes, so she decided on eggs, toast, and the various fruits that were still fresh.

She was alerted to the sound of the door opening in the room above just as she had moved to the dining room, and she turned just as the kid came sprinting. "...Mother? Father! I had the most terrible dream, it was-"

His throat caught, staring wide-eyed at her as Sakura blinked back at him slowly.

"I'm sorry," she said, refusing to sound apologetic but empathetic instead. "I know."

She pulled a chair out and guided him gently without speaking a word. His eyes had faded over once again, and the thought crossed her mind that he was detaching to keep away from his current memories, subconsciously separating the thought of his family from the horrors of his experience. She set a plate out in front of him and then moved her own so it was across from his.

"Eat," she commanded, moving his hand so that it held his fork. "Don't think. Just eat."

And after a moment of hesitation, starting off robotically, he began to eat. He stabbed at a strawberry and bit off the end, mouth moving slowly as if he were relearning the taste. He took another. And another. Two minutes into his breakfast like a switch that had just gone off, he started to choke in loud, strangling sobs, shoveling egg into his mouth in as unmannerly of a way as he possibly could. Sakura watched him go at it with only a tightening feeling in her chest, letting him continue.

There was something terribly beautiful about loss, she thought. Once you've felt it, nothing will ever be as scary as the first time. It's a sharp-speared memory that yields again and again, like a wound that continues to be aggravated until it festers. She's seen it firsthand in every waking moment of her previous life. Yet it still hurts when she sees him cry, and she stands to clear his face of tears with a white handkerchief.

"I want to see them." His first words to her were not too surprising, barely composed as he continued to hiccup quietly, but Sakura nodded.

"I've sent them to the Undertaker. He's probably finished with them by now."

There were many things she'd learned while staying here in London that weren't even thought of in Konoha. Although they did preserve bodies, ninjas more often than not burned them or stored them in scrolls so they could move them quickly off-scene or for examination. Here, they embalmed or froze the body and placed them into caskets, scattered with flowers like war heroes. Their tradition treated the dead much better in this place. Sakura pulled him up, noticing that he was still in his nightshirt. "Oh, right. I'll dress you."

She held her hand out to him. The boy stared at it dumbly, and Sakura waited. "Come on. No need to wait."

When he did take her hand, tentatively, she smiled and tugged. No more needed to be said. He held her hand just a bit tighter, kept his head just a bit higher, and Sakura knew that in time he would be alright again.

"How did you know where I live?" He asked her, later, when she had managed to figure out how the heck men's garments were put on with his clumsy managing. She made a face when he laughed at her, but they both knew that she was trying hard not to laugh too.

"Everyone knows where the Phantomhives live," she responded, hiding a chuckle. It wasn't too far off the mark, either. Sakura had managed to blend in pretty well now, and she had learned to remember all the main roads. Her smile dimmed as his eyes glanced away.

Konoha did not believe in the afterlife, and they only had a vague expectation for the soul. Sakura realized how much it meant to Britain, its culture, and how it gave hope to its inhabitants. As soon as she had neared that looming mansion in the distance, his soul seemed to resonate in content, a melancholy feeling of silence in his turbulent mind. She did not believe in it herself, but as she stared at him she knew that it didn't matter anyway.

Maybe, for now, she could find her place again.

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Wow, that was a ride. Even if it came out dog shit, I'm honestly proud that I finished this chapter. Thanks for reading this extremely puzzling crossover that even I have no idea how it came to fruition.

I have no clue if anyone still reads Black Butler fanfiction anymore, but I'm pretty sure the Naruto fandom is still huge af.


	2. Chapter 2

I have returned. Please reread the first chapter if you'd like, a few things have changed and I went back to fact-check. Many things were incorrect and/or falsified.

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Chapter 2

"And your name?"

"...I have chosen not to tell you," he replied, discomfort lining the edges of his words. Sakura laughed and shook her head, allowing him to wriggle away and out of her grasp.

She had checked in to assess his health periodically for the past couple of days, making sure to take her time once the life-threatening injuries had been put out of the way. Despite her offerings, he had not trusted her after the first night as he chose to keep to himself and turned inward whenever she came to visit. Sakura decided to give him both time and effort. She couldn't blame him - he was basically forced to grow mature in the span of one week, suffering through trauma that one his age never should have been subjugated to.

The manor, once upon a time, had become a burning wreckage of wood and stone and brick, trapping the bodies of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive within. Sakura had retrieved them and had sent them to the Undertaker while Ciel had rested, then later she had taken him to the gravestones. With Sakura's earth affinity and her application of both chakra control and the old pieces from her memory, she created an identical mansion based on what she had seen while scouting. She had been a world-wearier paper ninja during that time, and she had searched for any landmark that she could possibly recognize.

Additionally, while adding on the state of the forest to her list of things that had been destroyed and removing practically every nearby bush and fern and piece of wild foliage, she began the meticulous task of restoring the vast lands to become at least a shadow of the former splendor it had taken before. There were no clear river streams anymore due to the added effect of smoke and the agitation of dirt, but eventually they would settle down again. At least, Sakura hoped so.

She remembered the first time she had ever killed someone. He had been in his twenties, far older than she had been, and it was by a stroke of luck and a miscalculation on his part. She had sliced her kunai across his eyes in a blind effort, then while panicked she stabbed him in the neck. He had gone down in an instant and did not move after that.

She had been shivering when she came back from that mission. A couple of her teammates during the mission had been worried for her, but she had avoided talking to anyone for the remainder of the day and had gone home crying, alone in her room and revisiting the moment in the next dozens of nightmares. Kakashi had visited her once, attempting to aid her through the experience, but in the end she could not open herself up enough to do so. It was her progress to make, after all, and it was impossible to force it to happen.

He still allowed her to ask him questions, though, which may have been a noticeable distraction from staying quiet. Maintaining social interaction was crucially important, so Sakura continued to ask in order to both help him and to hear more about the now-deceased Phantomhive family.

"So why can you tell me your brother's name but not your own?"

He imperceptibly stiffened up. Sakura waited for him to respond, formulating the reason behind his own secrecy and watching him furrow his brow.

"Demons will form a contract under several conditions. Because Ciel is gone-" he stopped, then started again. "I cannot tell you my name, but I can say his without any issues. Unless you bring him back from the dead."

"Well, I can say for sure that I am not a demon, and I definitely cannot bring anything back from the dead. It's possible, but the reincarnation technique is both forbidden and extremely difficult, and those who are targeted are susceptible to falling apart since their bodies are not attached to their, uh, souls, as you would call it."

"I see. Wait, you aren't a demon?"

"Do I look like a demon to you?" She said, striking a ridiculous pose that would rectify the dark prestige that so surrounded their ilk and disassociate herself from it. It worked - he laughed in a surprised way that showed how off-guard he was before he quickly clamped his mouth shut and glared at her.

"You have glowing hands and your hair is literally the color of candyfloss."

"Ah - how dare you," she said, pretending to lean back and be offended. "I'll tell you that this is one hundred percent natural coloring."

"That makes me even more assured that you are either a witch or a demon."

"Oh, yes, of course," she monotoned. "I am taking care of you just to form a contract and eat your soul, or whatever things that those people do to humans."

The kid looked pensive, and Sakura ceased speaking in order to let him cogitate over the situation. If she had been any nicer, she would've avoided asking him too many questions for hear of him relapsing. However, Tsunade had beaten that kindness out of her once treatment of patients began. The hardest questions could come later, but first and foremost the requirements for helping heal physical malaise was to know what the weapon had been.

Ibuki had taught her more about the psychological effect of wounds and the emotional scarring from trauma as well - she had been terrified of the man at first, knowing that his job was to extract information as successfully as possible. Torture was the easiest method, but the psychological effect was what really broke them down. Taking time to break each appendage instead of rushing through was a first for her to watch, and the example made from those with missing limbs struck fear and obedience into them.

She did not care much for maiming, though, and apparently neither did he. _"Not very professional," he spoke calmly, and then proceeded to dislocate every part of the person's right arm. The screaming made her jolt. "Let's see how long this one can last."_

 _"Why are you showing me this?" She asked him, eyeing the door with increasing eagerness. Ibuki observed her with paralyzing scrutiny, freezing her just by watching._

 _"Tsunade showed you blood despite her phobia, correct? I will show you how to isolate someone, and then how to return them to the outside world."_

"My name will be Ciel, now."

"What?"

The boy shifted in his sitting position, staring out at the curtains covering the far window. "If I am to replace my dead brother as heir, I cannot do it the way I am now. My brother was better than me in every way: he did not have debilitating sicknesses like I did, his fiance loved him, he was optimistic and confident."

Sakura propped her head on one hand as she observed him, the determined little child who had made a lifechanging decision. His words sounded painfully familiar to her, because that had been what she told herself while facing both Naruto and Sasuke as equals. They were leagues above her level, far stronger with their heritage and their range of jutsus that Sakura could not replicate no matter how hard she tried. She did not have the endless chakra they did, deep pools of energy she could only make for herself by using the seal on her forehead.

In the end, she admired him for struggling through these feelings, much like she had on her own. Sakura nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled out the signet ring she had wiped free of blood earlier that morning. It shone with an opalescent blue light, reflecting off the sun's rays.

"I retrieved this for you. Take it."

His gaze roved up to meet hers, then back down to the ring held between her fingers. He reached out and took it before sliding it onto his thumb, which was the largest width he could use to keep the oversized band on him securely.

"Thank you."

Hesitantly, she continued the conversation: "If you do wish to continue living on as Ciel, then I can go and retrieve your brother's body for-"

"No!"

His voice was trembling, his hands shaking as well, but he continued to speak to her with tenacity: "I want that place to be burned to the ground. Everything within it. Can you..."

"I can do it."

The relieved look on Ciel's face changed when she leapt straight out the window on the third floor, but as she began moving back she could not help but see the honest, trusting kid that he had been before the event begin to surface and reappear, piece by piece. He was growing into this new skin, whether she wished to halt the process or not.

Sakura turned and continued on to the bloodied room of corruption, the newfound task waiting to be completed.

She reached the mansion within the span of the next two to three minutes. She moved much faster than when she had been carrying a child on her back, and she flickered into the room while noticing the stench of blood had become quite disgusting. Already there showed signs of decay from the bodies strewn about - there were more of the adult heathens than the young ones, so Sakura had little respect for the majority of those dead. She lowered her head briefly to pray, a small sign to distinguish the good from the wicked.

She covered her mouth and nose as she began performing a series of hand signs, then blew out to recreate one of the Uchiha's signature moves - Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.

The building erupted in a sea of red and orange, and as she departed she quickly observed the surroundings, head tilting slightly as if waiting for something else to occur. The area was quite isolated, surrounded by miles of forest and cobblestone paths. They must have arrived by carriage.

"Ciel's" body had decomposed and had been feasted upon by the animals that had wandered in. His face was entirely destroyed, and his organs were taken apart and eaten. Sakura gave a closer inspection once she caught the hint of something strange, eyes sharpening as she re-checked the detail, then moved aside.

"Kai!" She muttered, but nothing in her remote vision changed. She looked back at the child on the altar, seeing no further bloodstains or trails signifying that anything had been dragged off. With that, she soon departed.

Sakura waited until the fire was burning at its highest and everything inside had turned to ash before leaving. She did not want to leave any evidence behind in the wreckage, and those who checked would believe that it had been an unfortunate accident. Fire hazards occurred more often than expected due to the lack of ventilation and inflammable objects such as bookcases and stairways.

Carnivorous animals like cats and foxes may have been liable to eat the bodies of the dead humans, and she could see that there had been creatures who had come to visit the others - however, it was impossible for an animal to have removed the clothes from the dead twin, find a replacement with all the identifiable features eaten away, and replace them. Sakura knew that the child she had seen just then was not the same one - the height was correct to the closest centimeter, the fingertips exactly the same, even the hair color was correct. Whoever had come in to take "Ciel" had been thorough in their measurements.

She did not know who had been watching during that night. Sakura had remembered one small thing that the perpetrator appeared to have forgotten when he swapped the two children; while both the twins did have the scent of being more recently alive, this body had the acrid smell of preservation. This replacement body had died at least a week earlier, making her wonder who had the tools to do such a thing.

If she hadn't been looking for anything specifically, maybe she wouldn't have noticed it. Perhaps the person had been hoping that the surrounding stench would cover it up.

She did not have to worry about much else after that thought, however, because as she was returning she felt a genjutsu break from outside of the Phantomhive manor.

Something was trying to break in.

Sakura immediately shunshined several miles away and further from her destination, ears trained and listening closely. She couldn't detect its presence, couldn't even feel how it had broken through, so she crouched down and waited for the second illusion to come falling down. A murder of crows flew up from the tree behind her and went off into the distance.

After minutes passed, the invader still had not tried to go through the next barrier. She had planted around five in total, each of them harder than the last, but apparently she needn't have worried. She relaxed, shoulders losing their tension and rolling back.

She was about to get up and attempt to move closer within range when she finally heard a deep, resounding chuckle.

"You," she whispered, the cold feeling of despair returning. It was the same dangerous energy that she had felt before, only now it was magnified and sent shivers up her spine. It was much closer now, too, and finally she could match the face to the chakra signal.

It possessed dark feathers and an inhuman smile, full of jagged teeth that could rip her in two. For a moment, Sakura could see countless numbers of eyes staring, each one a bright, glowing fuschia. Her right hand instinctively reached for a kunai, dragging it out of her hip pocket with vigilance.

"Who are you?"

"I am a demon, of course."

Sakura's brow twitched, but otherwise she did not comment to deny the thought. This world had some very strange mechanics and their structures were far different than Konoha's shades of green and blue and brown, the sky and earth and forest. Britain was far more detailed, but to replace that good attribute their materials were dull and monotonous. Maybe she was being biased, however, and she would take it in stride.

Sakura leaned back against the bark of the tree, her clothes pressing against the hard surface of it. She did not wear a dress as was preferred by the women of this country, but she already appeared foreign she had no qualms against continuing to wear dark, loose-fitting clothing in the pretense of keeping her heritage. Besides, she cared little about following the fashion of this century, although she did enjoy watching other people attempt to move under heaps of restricting fabric and lace.

"So nice of you to visit. Hail and well met, I suppose," she drawled, but she remained tense as she saw shapes moving in the corner of her eye. Were they raven familiars of his? Were they a part of his body along with the stretching shadows? That in itself was a strange thought, but she was getting distracted. "However, this seems to be private property, so I hope you'll understand if I have to evict you."

"There will be no need," he replied smoothly. "Ra, was it? I have a proposition for Ciel, as I had been summoned by him previously when his twin was murdered. I wish to speak with him. Fifteen minutes shall suffice."

"Make it ten."

The demon continued to smile, but there was still that darker undertone to it that she did not like and care much for. "Understood. Now, please excuse me."

"Wait." She made an intention to lead the way and moved towards the mansion, inclining her head for him to follow. "There were four more barriers."

"I see. Then I shall accompany you back."

The way he agreed to things so easily made Sakura's neck crawl, and she hastily moved in order to brush the matter aside. It did give her some pressure to double-check her own words before she spoke anything that would otherwise have been a foolish thing to say, but she was known to work miracles under pressure and she hoped she would do so again.

"I say, I was not expecting you to stay so calm with this form I'd taken. Humans are normally more afraid of such a spectacle."

"I've seen things a lot more grandiose than you."

Sakura's mind went back to the ROOT facility and the eyes in Danzo's arm, his maniacal wish for eternal life and the slaughter of an entire clan in order to achieve it. She would forever be disgusted with his actions, but seeing the implants herself was far worse than anything she had ever been forced to witness. Minutely, she shivered.

"Cold?"

"No. Just thought of something terrible."

His acuteness and the clear-headed prodding quip irked her, but she remained silent for the remainder of the trip. They reached the gateway within moments, and with her back facing him she pulled down the barriers. A sharp cracking sound was heard, similar to glass breaking, and then she stepped through the doors.

After a moment the demon stepped in as well. Sakura abruptly turned and pointed towards the stairs at the other side of the vast room, spread out in an open and inviting area. She could not shake the feeling that if he intended to do so, he could dispose of her at this very moment. Fear made her bold.

"Second floor. If you try anything I'll kill you."

The demon laughed, further worsening Sakura's mood. "I won't take that long. I will return shortly."

She observed his disappearance as he vanished from the mansion's entrance, and a few seconds later she heard the door creak open. Discreetly Sakura's head turned towards the exact direction of the room and circulated chakra to enhance her hearing, spreading her senses to feel out their location.

Ciel's aura was so much smaller in a side by side comparison, and the demon's chakra was widely unleashed much like Naruto's had been with Kurama. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she listened in on their conversation while making sure that he didn't step too close: she had no qualms on attempting to take him on.

Or, at least, her replica would - she knew that no one in this universe had seen jutsus before, and if her premonition was correct then the demon had been watching them. She was quite keen on knowing what this person could and could not do, any possible weaknesses that she could exploit.

Ciel was the first to speak.

"Wha - how did you get in here?"

She could practically hear the grin on the abomination's face as he replied, "Do not worry. I have spoken to Ra beforehand, so you are safe where you are. I am sure that she has taken some... countermeasures."

And there it was. Sakura glared, completely unrepentant, as his gaze turned and he was now staring directly where she stood watching them.

"I see. What are you doing here?"

"On the night that the sacrifice was made, I was summoned by a soul that turned from God and wished for revenge. To use the life of a blood relative is a very drastic measure, but the payment was completed nonetheless. I am here to make a contract with you, as a demon."

There was a pause. Ciel's voice was shakier. "I...see."

"Do not worry, I can be very generous. To begin, you must inform me of what you wish for. Is it eternal power, perhaps? Or wealth?"

"Can you-"

Ciel halted. Absentmindedly Sakura remembered their conversation about resurrection before, and it might have been what Ciel remembered because he then said, "No. Nevermind."

"Patience is a virtue that I have plenty of. I will give you time to think."

Then there was silence. Ciel seemed to be thinking very hard, but of what Sakura had no inkling of. His family's resurrection would be impossible, and even if he tried the only two ways were to trick himself into thinking their illusions were real or to recreate them as the living dead.

Sasuke had been in this exact same situation: he returned to his home and found his family killed. She had never asked him about his life beforehand and he had never offered it, but she knew that it held a grave scar over his ever-healing heart. She didn't know if he would ever find it within him to trust anyone again. Although she wished for him to become her friend once more, she knew that attempting to intervene would do nothing but hurt him.

She had taken to people-watching, observing the many figures wandering through their day on the busiest of streets, and she found that the more people in the area they populated the less keen they were on lending a hand to a stranger. There were simply too many people to care for at once, and the anonymity made it less pleasant to find a connection between friends. The same occurred between the rich and poor - they could not relate to one another and so they became nuisances to each other.

With that in mind, she wondered how long it would take until the nobles caught on to the Phantomhive dilemma and latched onto it like vultures snatching prey, feeding on Ciel's vulnerability.

"I do not want anything. You may leave."

"Do you not wish to make them suffer?" The demon moved, shifting from the body of a snake, to a crow, to a wolf. "Do you not wish to know who had targeted the Phantomhive family?"

"I have Ra."

"Ah, yes. She is quite formidable, trapping me out of the summoning area despite me being called forth. I have many questions for her, but that can come later."

Sakura was uneasy by the last statement, but then Ciel spoke once more.

"Fine, then! I wish for the power to make those who hurt the Phantomhive family pay."

"Understood, master. Then I shall form the contract and engrave it onto our bodies. Where shall you put it? The more conspicuous the location, the more power you shall control-"

"Put it anywhere. I just want the power to be strong enough so that I never lose to anyone."

"Alright, then. I shall use your eye, the part in which reflects this utterly hopeless world. Do not move."

Sakura saw the aura move, and then Ciel was screaming in pain. She jerked to move but was stopped by a raven that swooped in through the open window, settling on the handheld bar of the red-carpeted staircase.

"Not yet," the demon murmured, and the voices came from both sides of the party. Sakura scowled but remained still.

The bright, flashing pale blue light stopped from within Ciel's room and the screams died down. She looked towards the room again, seeing the two new glowing bodies of light. She assumed that they were the contracts formed by the demon, purple in color and shimmering with energy.

"Now, shall we continue with the details of the contract?"

The raven fell back, and from Ciel she could hear a stuttering breath of surprise. Sakura could not see through walls, but as a sensor she could feel the mass of dark matter shrink down into a more human appearance, and the demon in disguise bowed deeply.

"A butler?"

"It is most fitting as a servant of someone of your position, is it not? You are the next head of the Phantomhive family, so you will become the lord."

"I...yes."

"You said that your goal was the power to make enemies of the Phantomhive family pay. No being will ever enter a contract of eternal work with no concrete goal, so we must lay down the context of trade. No one willingly enters a contract from which they only stand to lose from. You understand, yes?"

"O-of course. What are the choices?"

"I will give you three wishes."

"Alright."

This conversation was beginning to sound like more of an interrogation, but Sakura walked over to the long couch in the middle of the guest area and lay down in wait. There was no point in going up now. Ciel, whether he wanted to accept it or not, was going to become the head. She had little to no experience in such political affairs.

Sakura was startled when Ciel suddenly called out, "Ra! Are you still here?"

"Yes," she called back, moving to his room. The window had been pulled open, and she realized that the demon was now gone. "How are you feeling?"

"Utterly terrible. Is there a mirror?"

Sakura tilted the mirror on his nightstand so Ciel could peer into his reflection, observing the mark on his right eye. "It's too obvious," he realized belatedly. "I must cover it."

Normally she would've offered to help assist with a genjutsu, but unfortunately she would not have enough chakra available to maintain it for him constantly. Assuming he had to go on any long-distance trip without her, it would be infinitely safer to keep an eyepatch on him. She nodded.

"Can you see differently? Can you feel any sort of strength from just looking through it?"

Ciel briefly closed his left eye while looking through his right. After a while, he shook his head.

"No. It works normally. It just looks different." He paused, and then added, "Are you not angry?"

"Hm?"

Ciel looked slightly guilty, head tilting down to look at the bedspread covering him. "I formed a contract with a demon."

"Back in my home, they did something sort of similar."

She would have to become more used to the name Ra as well. After hearing her name twice from two different people, she was able to respond naturally but her mind was still disconnected. She thought of it more as a nickname, a shortening of the word 'Sakura', which was the reason she had picked it. The name was, coincidentally, also one of an Egyptian sun god.

(Additionally, she knew that the people pronounced foreign names differently here. She had told a storekeeper once when he asked, and he had repeated the syllables in a strange twisting accent that made her name sound awkward and stilted. She never spoke it aloud again.)

"His name is Sebastian."

"Oh? That's surprisingly normal for such a strange person."

"I chose it. It was the name of my pet."

Ra snorted, and even Ciel began to cough in the disguised attempt to hide a laugh.

"He told me to make three wishes. I turned them into the rules that will chain him down. Trusting him would have been a foolish endeavor. If I hadn't..." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "If I had been consumed by rage, I probably wouldn't even have thought of the consequences."

"What were the rules, and what did you trade in return for them?"

"They were to never lie to me, to obey all orders without fail, and to never betray me and protect me at all costs." He lowered his head as he answered the second question. "And the price...was my life."

"What?!"

She was absolutely livid and Ciel looked at her as if he were waiting for a bomb to go off. "Did he trick you into it? Oh, I _knew_ I shouldn't have waited outside, I should have-"

"No! I accepted his terms already knowing."

She stared at him, now completely lost. "What? Then why would you agree to his requirements? He had taken your brother already, why you as well?"

"One was to summon him, the other was to give in the trade. I wouldn't have survived either way. Ra, I'm very weak. My grasp on my father's affairs is very little, and now that I have to take on the mantle I must put myself into this work. I cannot ask you for everything, not when you saved me so many times, and this contract is a business affair for both of us. I am content with the choice I have made today."

"Ciel." She frowned. "You know you are not in this alone."

For a moment it looked as if he were about to reply, stopped, and then he nodded slowly as if the thought had not occurred to him until just now. "No, I suppose I'm not."

* * *

Second chapter done. Heading on to the third, I'll see you later.


	3. Chapter 3

Some fandoms are less than pleasant to be in based on the people in it, and the reviews I've gotten were rather blunt. So far both the Kuroshitsuji fandom and the Naruto one have been nothing but kind to me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Here's to the fourth chapter, coming soon.

* * *

Chapter 3

There were some things that Ra had never wished to remember. The betrayal of her teammate and the person she loved most. The death of her parents. And worst of all was the feeling of hopelessness as her world burned around her.

Itachi's genjutsu had been a memory of burning ashes, but not even that could compare to Obito's - Madara's - hellscape. She had looked into his eyes once on the battlefield as his reincarnated form took full hold upon the writhing mass of the Juubi. She did not even know if it had been hours or not - but he had shown her the absolute worst fear she had and pulled it open for them both to see.

It wasn't the appearance of the broken buildings, of course. Nor was it the image of the Ten-Tails, ravaging upon the empty wreckage of her defeated home.

It wasn't the blood, either _._ She couldn't get the stench of it out of her nose, but that was a trivial case and she had grown used to it.

It was the promise of an eternity, the feeling that new leaves would not come out of the blackened husk of an old tree. That was what their entire village stood for, their image stretching across the skies as a country that stood tall, unyielding, growing back their branches again and again as long as they maintained the network of roots underneath. But this time, Madara had burned even the earth with his ire.

She had read no journal entries about his former years alongside Hashirama. That part of their history had been removed along with the extinction of the Uchiha clan, their betrayal. But she wondered, briefly, how Izuna would have seen his brother now had he been able to see what Madara had become.

 _Piteous,_ her traitorous mind imposed, and then he had twisted the Mangekyo deeper. She had not bowed, for she would not let herself. And the worst thing was that Ra had felt his pain.

He was unable to save his family members, and with that guilt imbedded deep within his heart he wrenched his morals aside and found the worst possible techniques to achieve what he wanted. Eternal peace. The Tsukiyomi. And in the process, nobody would ever have to suffer from anything again.

What would that plan be, other than a fever dream? Ra knew from undergoing years of isolation and choosing to hide from her woes rather than facing them that pain, however much it hurt, reminded them of their own mortality. It reminded her that she would eventually end someday. It lessened the hurt of her mistakes, at least, and it made her more confident to make them. She was not a harbored child, fearful of the judgment of her peers and sensei. She had grown far past that already.

If she had been in his shoes, she likely would have let them be. The dead should rest in their graves, no matter how much Ra mourned for them, and when she was dead she hoped they did the same. Her past was full of errors, blundering scars that she was deeply ashamed of and wanted nothing more but to forget. _A clean slate,_ she said, _but not the one you wish for, Madara. Puppets have to be held up on strings, and dancing for someone else's amusement is the last thing I'd ever want._

And then, by some miracle, it had ended. She had been released for some inane reason that Madara gave, and when she looked at him again for a second time he had cast his eyes away, as if feeling... remorse? Surely not. Perhaps he had thought she was unaffected and did not waste any further time on her useless antics.

She was too weak to have done anything to him, anyway. Suddenly Ra had felt tired, as if the fighting was unnecessary and a mere waste of her energy. She was not a powerhouse, and she could not replicate the feats that Naruto or Sasuke accomplished. She did not have anything but her own hard work and her control. And what good did that do, in a game where only the flashiest jutsus won?

Ra did not get as close of a read as she wished she did, but a few days later the demon returned.

His appearance kept the same glowing eyes that he had shown the two before, but there was something different about them - it seemed that whatever aura it used was muted, shifting ever so slightly so that it wasn't as obvious or as noticeable. Ra blinked, brow furrowing, wondering if it was some sort of genjutsu that diverted her attention away from the unusual feature. Of course, that was only in regards to Britain. The Uchiha had the Sharingan, and she'd seen much weirder signs of clan heritage just from traveling with Naruto.

Maybe that shouldn't be her first thought, however, because Naruto attracted weird things just by existing.

The demon's attire and figure were otherwise normal, if not a bit too attractive-looking that drew attention away from Ciel at most and gave her a bit of discomfort. The imposing figure he made could not be suppressed by the title of a butler, she assumed, but even his beauty seemed falsified. What servant couldn't manage to blend into the background, remaining quiet and poised? He would never be a ninja, that's for sure.

After the incident of the mansion burning down, it had surprisingly not taken the news the very next day. The perpetrators were probably keeping quiet, and there had been no sightings otherwise from any nearby people. Ra assumed that it was because she had kept up the barriers to ward off anyone who attempted to come nearby and investigate, and she soon found no reason to regret it. If they had seen the unharmed state of the house, they may have found some suspicion for what had actually occurred.

The area surrounding the mansion had been refurnished due to Ra's efforts. She had planted many different types of herbs and things that fit the seasonal changes: agapanthus, climbing roses blooming scarlet red in the sunlight, lilac sprouts, and lily of the valley.

She had gone to great lengths to acquire each of the plants. Using scrolls that she had blessedly saved in her medic pouch, she was able to transport many objects safely and searched while she kept track of the things she already had within them, including weapons and chakra pills. She would be able to use them in case of an emergency.

It had never been her strong point when knowing the meanings of flowers. She chose the ones that she thought suited each other best, but judging by the strange look on Sebastian's face when he saw the white bells of the last particular flower, Ra briefly remembered that they were supposed to ward away evil spirits and from witches' spells. She tried not to laugh out loud in front of him, but judging by her muffled snorting he probably knew anyway.

Other than the planting, she had been looking up more subjects to read in the vast sections of what they deemed to be a library. And yes, it definitely was one - the building was far bigger than any she'd ever seen, and there were several floors, each winding higher and higher in one glass-paneled staircase.

The subject of reading had not stood out to her in the beginning, and in her world they had never come across or written topics such as that of fairies. There were gods, of course, beings so legendary and omnipotent that their divine intervention could fall a nation and give rise to another.

But as she gained time to do as she pleased in this place, once the feeling of "I-need-to-go-back-home" and sleepless nights of poring through the pages of lost books in libraries had faded, she had decided to read more of the lore of this land, and further, the stories they told to explain strange happenings they could not comprehend. Devils, they screamed. Witches. Heretics. They burned innocents at the stake because of their fear.

Their law systems were corrupt and unprofessional, or perhaps they simply did not care. Either way, many people had died whether from plague or primordial tactics, their stagnant technology and their inability to do anything other than be the terrified civilians they already were.

Ra may have been that, once. If she had chosen not to become a shinobi, she may have been subjugated to a life of misery and suffering. She still had that now, of course, but at least she felt she was doing something about it. She had become useful.

She had learned about the Black Plague pandemic, spreading across the country and the continent of Europe as it killed from 70 to 200 million people. The number differences were astonishing, but even more so were the lack of explanations for the _why_.

She'd read documents where the Holy Roman Emperor blamed a specific group of people for creating the plague. She'd seen written records where many believed it was the work of god, the penance for their unworthy souls. Religion had staked its name into people's minds, so much so that it blinded them to the fact that it had been poisoning and airborne sickness, along with the unhygienic practices these people faced.

She was relieved to know that while the medieval period had many believe that having water touch their skin while completely naked would make them severely ill and that it was an evil practice, the outbreak helped them realize that hand-washing decreased the effects using either water, wine, or vinegar, and due to this the cleanliness of streets became better as well. They created perfumes, oils, soaps made from mutton fat and wood ash and flower petals and herbs.

(She chose the one that had the least scent attached to it. However much she enjoyed perusing through the high-class paraphernalia scattered throughout the shops for richer folk, she did not want her location to be compromised because she had used lavender that day instead of the natural bar soap.)

Then she had learned about knights. That subject had been the most interesting for her, considering their values and hers were the same. She served Konohagakure, hidden in the leaves and the brush and the quiet rivers, and the knights served their lords and their kingdom of men, fighting again and again but refusing to crumble. She valued that strength, and thus she respected the concept of the soldier even more within them.

Ciel had been amused at first, but as she continued to check out books and they began to pile even the floors of her room, he had begun to look rather concerned. "You look like you're holing yourself up in there," he noted as she stepped over and around piles of papers she'd written on and leather spines worn and weathered. "It looks like you're trying to solve a murder."

"Eh, close enough," she replied as she flipped several pages in one text, then turned to another and turned back three more. He slowly backed out of the room and left her to her own devices after that. She was grateful for his thoughtfulness.

Despite the few times he did leave his study (mostly to berate Ra and then ask her if there was any dinner prepared), Ciel was quiet. He had searched through and personally went to each of his father's colleagues since much of his papers and documents had been burned away in the fire. Ra was not sure how to replicate that, since she had not been able to find anything left to salvage. He seemed to be quite worried about it, so she accompanied him to and fro from the mansion.

A full week after the fire, Ra heard a knock on the front door and sneaked through to check. Surely enough, it was the butler, and behind him were several people that she did not recognize.

"Hello," she said cautiously, inviting them in. They seemed too nervous to be demon compatriots, but she couldn't be sure. "Uh, who are you?"

"They will be new servants to the Phantomhive household," Sebastian replied calmly. "And one returning caretaker. Tanaka-san, was it?"

A well-dressed and quite elderly man walked up from behind the three, bowing in a short introductory stature. Otherwise, he had nothing else to say, and Ra watched as he headed off to greet the young master with the air of a butler who knew exactly what to do next.

"My name is Ra," she greeted the newcomers less warily. Her eye for reputable fellows had not been hindered over the years, and she was sure they were exactly as Sebastian described them. "Pleased to meet you. I am a friend of Ciel Phantomhive's, and I'm glad there will be new faces around."

Hastily they responded in kind. "My name is Baldroy, but you can call me Bard. This is Finnian, and the other lady is Mey-rin. We will do our best for the Phantomhives."

The three were dressed in peculiar attire, none that she'd seen before, and Ra decided that they definitely had not come together but had grown close in the brief time they'd spent. She could practically feel their camaraderie in the air. She acutely did not mention any of this to them lest they become embarrassed.

"You can call me Finny, though!" The boy added with a slight grin, and Ra felt herself blink twice.

"Of course. I'll, uh..." She glanced over to Sebastian. "I'll leave you to it."

The demon merely smiled.

Feeling mildly perturbed by what the new butler had been doing during the time he was mysteriously away, Ra flickered up to the second floor and peeked in to where Ciel's study was. What she saw was a surprise - Tanaka was greeting the new head of the household, and Ciel's shoulders were shaking as he stared up at the man in front of him. He looked as if he were seeing a ghost.

Judging by both of their expressions, they seemed to have known each other for a long time. Briefly, she wondered if that meant some of the information Ciel was unsure of would be settled by this matter. All the servants had left, but at least one of them should know about what the previous head had been aware of. Gossip ran a long way.

"You're alive," he said, voice breaking. "Tanaka, I am so very sorry. I did not go looking for you once you left."

One wizened hand came to rest carefully upon Ciel's head, and Ra saw that it was his way of saying that it would be alright. "We can continue on, can't we? I will follow you till the end, young master."

An unknown message was sent between the two, and with that image of Tanaka consoling the well-worn and stricken boy Ra decided not to overstay her welcome.

Brief introductions were made once Ciel was brought down to see over the new servants. Bard seemed to stand up a bit straighter, Finny shifted from foot to foot with anticipation, and Mey-rin appeared quite lost. She sat in the shadows, watching over them on the tall oak banister to the left of the high chandelier as they made their greetings.

"Your garden is beautiful," Finny exclaimed, hands wringing behind his back, and once again Ra was reminded of someone else. "If I may, I'd like to watch over it. I love the outdoors, and I'll make sure to treat your plants well!"

"I'm pretty good with fire," Bard said, cigarette on one side of his mouth as his lips moved, "so I can work in the kitchen. Keep the furnace going, y'know."

"I-I know some things with polishing," Mey-rin stuttered, "and I can clean the floors. I'll make sure to do it well, yes I will!"

"Of course," Ciel replied, and the way all of them lit up made Ra feel somewhat moved.

Tanaka, apparently, had been treated at the Royal Hospital due to having been stabbed while protecting Ciel from the intruders. Sebastian had encountered him on the returning trip, and Tanaka seemed overjoyed despite the way he moved more slowly at times to show his injured back. He had given Sebastian his pocket watch, in which he briefly said had been passed down from the Phantomhive butlers for a long time. The demon accepted it dutifully.

Ra briefly came down again, much to the astonishment of those who hadn't noticed her from the beginning. She nodded to Ciel and stood by Tanaka, who had taken position at the front of the stairs and bowed to her as a guest. She waved a hand, and just as she did she cast the remaining push needed to help process the wound before it scarred. Tanaka's expression grew sharper, then subsided as if he had noticed nothing at all.

With his new appointed title as house steward, Tanaka retired for the day as they settled in. Ciel had bestowed a straw hat to Finny, and to Mey-rin a pair of glasses. She did not have to wonder what they were for - she could see the way Finnian covered his neck subconsciously, the trembling of Mey-rin's pointer finger as she pulled at a phantom rifle. They were grateful, and Ra was glad for their relief.

Mey-Rin, especially, seemed to be pleased for her newfound apparel and her requirement to wear skirts, the things that Ciel had gifted to her for the job she now undertook. Although all three of them turned out to be quite clumsy in their work, Ra hoped that with time they would be able to enjoy their occupations enough that they could at least push back the thoughts they had before, the melancholy of trauma and heavy strife.

A month passed.

Ra knew how to cook. She didn't have a very large plethora of dishes in her repertoire, however, but she was the most experienced person in the manor to make things and Sebastian needed to learn quickly. In the end, she helped him figure out many of the seasonings and spices along with how carbohydrates should be balanced with fruits and vegetables, or how fish was good with rice.

Eastern cuisine was emphasized. She didn't really have a lot of chances to make what she wanted before, but using Sebastian as an excuse to start making things she craved Ra began to create noodles, bok choy, and tofu, along with many other ingredients that normally they would not have. She could begin growing the items in the forest areas as well, branching out slightly as long as she remained tolerant of the prices and how well they produced.

During her nostalgia over past recipes and cultural exchanges, she offered him many cookbooks from the library in the meantime. Her collection of reading material was stockpiling, and as she visited the building many times they began to offer her things that they wished to throw away, things they wanted her to keep. She was a regular there, and to her credit Ra was an open person who made sure to visit often and every two or three days.

She couldn't carry a mountain of books back with only one trip, after all. It would be quite a spectacle.

It turned out that Sebastian became quite capable with cooking once he started using Ra as his first test subject. The first few times, she had promptly trashed the contents into the rubbish bin and told him to try again, pointing out that he either cooked with the fire on for too long or too high. "Keep a timer if you have to," she said, maintaining the heat. "I have no idea how long you managed to live without learning how to cook, but I guess demons don't have to eat food like we do."

It was quite funny how he maintained his composure but then ruined the eggs, but in the end he learned fast. Amazingly so, since after watching her perform each task once he was able to replicate it effortlessly.

Ciel's addition of mentioning the things he preferred also shaped Sebastian's (and in turn, her own) recipes, adding croissants, pastries, and other fine delicacies into their list. This they both had to learn, hers still turning out slightly better if not perfect composites of raspberry scones and cobblers and cookies. His confidence to excel was still uncanny, though, and Ra was sure that with another try he would fine-tune his creations for Ciel to enjoy.

Competitive streak aside, there was really nothing else for her to do. Sebastian handled the other's mistakes appropriately, and Ra looked over Tanaka's health every so often, but Ciel asked to be left alone besides being sent dinner by the butler and to ask Tanaka for assistance.

Disliking the demon's accompaniment and wanting to complete her own tasks, Ra continued to read on into the night. She visited Finny, then she ascended a tree with minimal effort and stood directly perpendicular to it, nestling within its branches and watching the sun fall down.

"I miss them," she said aloud, seeing nothing but the fireflies blinking yellow in return. "I wonder how long it'll take for me to come back."

Yes, she was starting to enjoy herself once more, and it was lessening the burden she had for returning back home and worrying about the fate of her Konoha, the sheer terror of the unknown and if she would be forced to stay in this place forever. But the fear still existed, and the stories still told her nothing.

" _Summoning Jutsu_ ," she spoke, smearing a prick of blood from her finger and into the palm of her hand. There was no spark of connection, no slug returning to her, and Ra felt her frustration grow.

"Shit," she said, leaning back hopelessly. She hadn't wanted it to be her last resort, but there it was. She was fully disconnected from her own world, and it would not answer to her prayer. The darkness stretched slightly, changing form, and she saw animals in the night, howling nightmares made of rage and avarice and pain.

There was no reply, of course. But Ra stilled, feeling fear creep in, wondering when it had last been that she could not feel her blood pounding.

The bed was too soft when she returned, and all the senses within her said to remain hardened and alert, so on the floor she slept, blanket folded up neatly beneath her. She was not cold, as there was too much heat in the mansion and there was no air circulation throughout the rooms.

She awoke five hours later, still feeling jittery and far too haywire for her own good.

"My, what are you doing out here this early in the morning?" Sebastian asked as she stumbled into the kitchen, seeming genuinely concerned. Ra gave him a sardonic half-reply as she reached for the coffee handle next to the door that wasn't there. She briefly remembered that this wasn't her apartment anymore, let alone her kitchen, and scowled before searching through the pantry for ground coffee.

"I was contemplating the universe. What about you?"

He took this in stride and prepared a cup for her to use, watching her pour water in first before letting several spoonfuls of the powder fall into the mix. She reached for the sugar that wasn't there either and frowned even harder, chugging the thing back. A stray line of coffee dripped from her chin, and as she wiped it off with a grimace and dropped the cup into the sink she turned to see Sebastian giving her a perturbed look. "What?"

"I've seen people drink coffee before, but never like that. Ciel only has a penchant for tea, of course, but with you around I suppose I'll have to go grocery shopping again."

"Shut it, I'll go buy it myself," she bit back, waving a hand. "Anyway, feeding Ciel is your job. I can go make breakfast for everyone else, so move over and let me use the stove."

Ra would admit, the usage of many things in a normal kitchen were strange compared to that of the Victorian age. The sugar nips were unwieldy while the lark spit remained in a strange location due to her ability to set a fire herself. The spices and the marmalade made sense, a porcelain case covering it to keep away any insects, but the iron stove was an awkward sight to see due to the black piping and how it jutted out from the far wall.

The largest work surface was in the center of the kitchen, with one long and obstructing table surrounded by all the appliances. This was set to be a kitchen for multiple cooks, which she assumed made sense due to the amount of work needed to serve a lord's family and/or guests of the house. However, there was only her now. Sebastian didn't count, and Bard was a feat all to himself that she couldn't possibly equal.

This was the only terrible thing about the cookstove, as her control of flames other than the process of setting them were practically nonexistent. However, she made sure that the wood had been stoked and ready before making something new.

"What is that?" Sebastian leaned over curiously, but Ra promptly shut the lid and smiled without remorse.

"Thanks for not throwing out the things from yesterday. It's turning out very well."

Cow bones, along with chunks of meat still attached and the cutting of white radishes before being seasoned with pepper. Her father had cooked it for her when she was younger, and the soup it made was delicious. It was a simple recipe that required a low boil overnight, but the longer she waited the better it would taste. It was used medicinally as well. She always had it while sick, and the bone broth used up all the good qualities from the cartilage while keeping all of the actual bones out.

Judging by the intrigued glance as Sebastian saw her contemplating, something must have shown. She briefly turned and let the faucet run water over the cup she'd used before exiting, calling back behind her a "don't look into the pot!"

"Of course not. I would never."

"I see you looking in it. You are dead to me, demon."

* * *

The first impression the three had of Ra when they first met her was: oh, she's scary.

Her gaze had been particularly serious, quite stoic for one her age. She looked to be about eighteen, possibly older, but her eyes seemed as if they were wiser beyond their years. She looked sharply at Sebastian (as if she wanted to stab the man in the neck) but seemed to think better of it when she saw the onlookers coming up from behind him. Sebastian smiled.

"Why are you here," she said, and then in a quieter tone, "Hello. Uh, who are you?"

If they had been paying closer attention, they would've realized that Ra was slightly nervous rather than suspicious. However, they were too scared out of their wits and so fearfully remained silent.

At first they assumed that she had been glaring bloody murder at them, and Finny may have squeaked a little when her eyes passed through his, but otherwise she did not do anything other than stand beside Sebastian as they introduced themselves. Her own introduction was formal, precise, and with no hesitations - she then turned and left, into the depths of the mansion that they had no map or clue of.

If his friends were as intimidating as Ra, they soon wondered how serious Ciel would be.

"A friend of Ciel's, huh? She's pretty," Mey-rin whispered to Bard. He found himself nodding, then shook his head abruptly.

"She has _pink hair_ ," Finnian said in awe.

"So do I," Mey-rin responded with confusion. "Anyway, what should we do now?"

Sebastian finally turned to acknowledge them, clapping his hands politely. "You three should wait until Ciel comes down. I'm sure Tanaka will appear any second."

And precisely as he said his last sentence, they saw two figures walking steadily down the steps. One was considerably shorter than the other, and on his face was a dark eyepatch covering his right eye. Bard quickly dropped his cigarette from his mouth and hid it in his pocket.

"I am Ciel Phantomhive, head of this household and Earl of the Phantomhive family," he spoke, and his voice shot through them like bullets. It demanded authority, even when coming from such a young child. "What are your names?"

"M-my name is Finny," he stammered first.

"Mey-rin, a pleasure to meet you, yes it is!"

"Baldroy, but please call me Bard."

"I expect you all to do your best." Ciel checked the banister and they confusedly followed his gaze, but there was nothing there. "I will let Sebastian assign each of you your jobs."

"Yes, young master," Sebastian replied. "I shall make sure these three perform to their utmost abilities."

Ciel looked over them again, slower this time - ashamed, Finny's hand searched upwards for the numbers on the back of his neck, S-012. Mey-rin fidgeted in her spot, keen eyes shifting to the side. Bard, if anything, grew impossibly still. "I believe we will have their new uniforms prepared. Take them to their rooms, and let them know what their duties will be from tomorrow on."

"Of course."

Sebastian presented, to Finny, a hat. It was scratchy and made from straw, with a red ribbon looped around the middle as a decoration and to help make it feel more comfortable on his head. "For you."

"Th-thank you," Finny stuttered, accepting the gift. It covered up his head, and more specifically, the number inked into his skin. "I'll take good care of it."

"And for you, Mey-rin," Sebastian said, handing her a black case. When she opened it with cautious fingers, she removed from the velvet inside a pair of rounded, wire glasses.

"Oh, my," she gasped. "Thank you, sir, I'll use them well, yes indeed!"

"See to it that you do." Sebastian read the time on his new pocket watch, the hour and the minute aligning. "I will let you settle in. I have to return to the kitchen and prepare lunch for the young master, so come down for your meals. We will begin tomorrow."

He left them each with a set of directions, and the three generally parted once they had gotten their correct rooms. "I'm nervous," Mey-rin admitted as she wiped her glasses repeatedly before placing them on the bridge of her nose. "I've never done any other job properly before than the one I had."

"I've never even had a job," Finny said, and Bard laughed.

"Aw, I'm sure you'll do just fine, Finny."

"Thank you," the boy returned, and then they departed.

They had forgotten about the girl they had seen before until the next morning, where there was a quiet knock on the door to their residing area. "Hmm? Whazzit?" Bard put down his flamethrower perpendicular to the door, setting the polishing cloth down next to it. Finnian was out cold, snoring softly and dead to the world.

"Breakfast," he heard Ra respond. It was emotionless and yet graceful. "It's light, but you can have more than a second helping."

"Thank you," he said a bit sheepishly. "If I'd known you were preparing food for us, I would've come and helped. Besides, aren't you a guest of ours? I'm very sorry for the lack of effort on our part."

"No problem," she denied. "I'll wake Mey-rin now."

He could hear the footsteps retreating, and then he was alone again. Baldroy stretched, glancing outside to see the sunlight reflecting off the windowpane. He heard the sound of birdsong and chirping, which brought a gradually widening smile to his face.

"Alright," he muttered, and started off his day by kicking the side of Finny's bed to wake him. The loud yelp he was rewarded made a hilarious addition to the loud thump of Finny falling onto the floor, and Bard laughed as Ra continued on to Mey-rin's room.

Ra heard the yelling. "Kids, these lot," she groaned, shaking her head as she rapped her knuckles against the wooden door.

She waited for a reply.

Mey-rin made a loud noise and a few crashing sounds to indicate that she had awoken, and after a long pause of silence she heard a shaky, "Who is it?"

"It's Ra. First meal of the day is ready. Come to the kitchen quarters to eat. I'll be going back."

Mey-rin responded with slightly more confidence and sounded much less spooked, so Ra stepped lightly back to set up the plates.

The stove was still hot when she returned. Quickly Ra removed the pot, stirred its contents, and poured the correct ladlefuls of the liquid before closing it back shut and letting it simmer. She could have more later, but as of now she did not want to burn through the rest of the fire. She doused the flames by closing off the air allowed into the open iron entryway.

The four of them ate together. Well, Mey-rin sipped, Finny chattered, and Bard made loud slurping noises while he drank. Ra observed them as she downed her bowl so that when they checked again, she had already placed it aside and was idling about.

Now that she did notice, Mey-rin's hair had a tinge of magenta to it. The Undertaker had long white hair as well, and however much Ra may delude herself he was most definitely not old or wrinkled. Perhaps the books were wrong and people began to dye their hair different colors. Or genetics. Or maybe they were all wearing wigs.

Questioning whether someone was or was not wearing a wig may be a rude overstep of their boundaries, though, so Ra wisely decided not to say anything at all.

Perhaps it was genetics. It would make sense - there were too many outliers to say otherwise. Albinos existed for that reason, and Mey-rin had a shade or two off from being a redhead. Perhaps Ra could excuse herself as a mixture of both.

In any case, she continued to wait until they had finished their bowls and asked for another. "It's really good!" Finny gushed, pushing out his bowl in a silent demand for seconds, and Ra felt heat creep up the back of her neck.

"Thank you," she replied, adding another helping of soup for him. "It was a recipe from my family. I enjoyed it a lot."

"I'm pretty sure I'd get stuck on it, too. I've been feeling sick all the way here, and now I'm rejuvenated!" The boy patted his stomach with gusto, then made a face. "Oop. Shouldn't do that anymore, I might actually get sick again."

"Not in front of the food, Finny," Bard scowled. Was that cigarette still in his mouth? Ra snatched it out before he could forget and start choking on tobacco, which made him jerk in surprise. "Oh, thanks. I nearly forgot."

They ate until the pot was about halfway full, and then she stowed it away for later consumption. There was no need to put it in the icebox, so she left it where she had put it before on the stovetop. "If I may ask, where are you from?" Bard questioned her once she settled back in. "I was a soldier before this. Mey-rin and Finny..."

"I was a test subject," Finny interrupted. He wasn't frowning, but his smile didn't seem quite bright anymore. His shoulders hunched in. "I have strength too hard to control, so I break things often."

"Super strength?" Ra said, surprised. She had not realized that there were humans that could complete such feats without the proper training. But then again, science could perform many things by itself. "I - I do as well. Maybe I can help you sometime."

"Huh?"

Finny was looking at her again, longer this time. His gaze seemed almost hopeful. "Did you escape from the scientists like I did?"

"No," she denied, shaking her head. "I'm very sorry to hear what you've suffered through, but I was... a soldier, of sorts. I suppose there were things that could increase my strength, my stamina."

This time, Bard leaned in with an air of solemnity. "On the battlefield?" He asked roughly, sounding tired. "Which one?"

Ra shook her head. "To the east," she lied, knowing that there was a place in this world called 'Japan' that sounded far more similar to the era she knew. "I've went through many. I assume that you have, too."

"Yes."

The mood turned somber. She did not know what to say to them at a time like this: she had never been consoled before, not by her friends or her sensei. Kakashi was never very strong at consolation, and at the most when Sakura cried he would give her a pat on the back and an attempt at a smile. It had effectively taught her the lesson to never rely on her teacher for emotional support.

Ra gently folded her arms and placed her hands close to theirs, her left near Bard's and her right towards Finny's. She did not touch them directly, but the gesture was there nonetheless. She told them something that she had often told herself, the thing she had wished for when nobody else had been around to say it: "Good work, you two."

She had meant it as a message to say: be proud of coming through it alive. A promise of strength was the only backbone she needed, because otherwise her foundation would come crumbling down. Her situation had been a mere strike of misfortune: Team 7 had always been placed like this. They were meant to be the powerhouse team, and whether she was as good as them or not she would always be left behind. Her ambitions had been more withdrawn.

However, she did not know their experiences and she didn't know if it had come out the right way. She was surprised when Finny grasped at her hand, clutching it with a bone-crushing grip that she countered by giving back the same amount of strength. It wasn't too hard, but it gave Finny some consolidation so she let it continue.

And for some reason, they started tearing up. Ra jerked back in sheer astonishment, wondering what she had said wrong - however, her worries were soon crushed as Finny kept holding on and came toward her with the force of a stampeding pack of wolves, and she inadvertently stiffened up. "Thank you," he sobbed into her shoulder. "No one's ever said that to me before."

"I," she began. She attempted to prod him in order to remove his arms wrapped around her in a crushing way, but she didn't want to pry him off of her.

Bard was sniffling. "You're too kind," he said, but it sounded like he was choking back more tears. "I'm glad that you've been so kind to us. We'll do our best once we start working, I promise you."

And with that, Mey-rin removed her glasses and peered down at them. She had been quite happy with them despite the terribly inaccurate prescription, and she had been hoping to wear them for as long as she could without hindering her work. However, it was quite hard to see properly. So with some thought, she popped off the lenses and tucked them into the pocket of her dress, gazing cat-like eyes at the girl across from her as she placed the frames back on her nose. "I agree," she promised.

All three of them seemed to have come to some silent and determined conclusion that she did not properly understand. Ra's brow creased, but she did not say anything further so that their truce would not break.

It seemed that she would be having a lot more fun during her stay here.

Sebastian, meanwhile, was pleasantly surprised.

Perhaps a bit perplexed as well.

More than perplexed.

Upon seeing them dressed and ready to go when he came with their instructions, Sebastian had not had much expectations out of them. Their goal had originally been to stay out of his way and basically not to ruin what had already been done, but then they had gone and asked what else needed to be done. This considerate attitude befuddled him.

Their first day had not been special. He had told them to become used to the equipment, and he showed each of them where their tools were, what rooms to clean, what tasks to remember doing. He had not expected them to jump wholeheartedly into their jobs and do things that they supposedly had never done before in their lives, or to do so with such vigor.

They messed up, of course. Finny had broken the shears as soon as he touched them. Bard set the kitchen on fire. And Mey-rin...

Well. The brushes were about due to be replaced, anyway.

Watching those three become _adequate_ at their cleaning jobs shouldn't have been much of a surprise. He had picked them for their skill in assassination and/or fighting technique, not to clean silverware and prep for their next course. However, their personalities were another side of them that he had overlooked just barely, since with their idiocy any intruding enemies would find themselves underestimating their foes.

It did not appear as though they had lost that side of them, though. But the way they put every effort into becoming better servants made Sebastian just slightly confused. Where had their motivation come from? It was not as if Ciel had given them much, and they still owed him a life debt. They were working as if their lives depended on it.

"What happened to your glasses?" He asked Mey-rin. She subconsciously pushed up the frames on her nose.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently, but he was not blind. That, and he was perceptive enough.

"The glass in your frames. They're gone."

She sighed, one of her fingers curling through the space where the lenses previously had been and confirming his suspicions. "Yes, you're right," she admitted softly, "but I couldn't help but feel that I would ruin the polish if I couldn't get a better view. The sun was blinding me and my glasses were making it harder to see."

She did not state directly that it was the wrong prescription that was ruining her eyesight, but Sebastian caught the intention behind it. "I understand," he nodded easily. "Well, I will let you continue your duties."

"Of course."

He found Finny in the garden next, considering a row of neat and tall hedges that needed to be trimmed. "Do you require assistance?" He asked, eyeing the gardening tools with a hint of worry. He did not want any handles crushed anymore, since he would have to fix them - or at worst, buy new ones.

"I'm fine," Finny said absentmindedly, and picked up the shears. Sebastian was about to wonder if he would snap them like toothpicks before he reached up and began snipping with a moderate grip, making sure to keep the bushes identical-looking.

The demon observed him, even more surprised than he already was. "Did you manage to learn how to control your ability?" He asked. Finny grinned.

"Ra taught me how. Instead of focusing so hard on not breaking things, Ra told me to focus on one finger at a time. And then-" he stopped, examining his pinky. Sebastian could see that it was stretched far apart, trembling. "If I concentrate on one, then I don't have to worry that much about the others."

"I see," Sebastian replied.

It was such a simple solution that it sounded inane, but for such an idiotic gardener such as him of course it would make sense to think that would work. "Well, see to it, then."

"Much obliged, sir."

He headed back down towards the kitchen, feeling a bit of dread for whatever atrocity would occur next. The last time, Bard had chosen not to use the matchbox but the flamethrower instead, lighting half of the room on fire. "I thought it would help the food cook faster," he exclaimed as if genuinely surprised by the turn of events. Everything had been blackened except for the innocuous-looking pot on the stovetop, not one speck of wood ash on it.

To be honest, Sebastian himself had thought the exact same thing when lighting the furnace. Therefore he did not blame the self-proclaimed chef, only sighing and waving Bard away so that he could clean up the mess. "The pie will come later, then," he said to himself, wiping the tabletop with a swipe of his hand. The rag came away pitch dark with soot.

But as of now, the present Bard was cheerfully tending to the flames using the poker stick, making sure that the firewood stayed alive and burning. "I chopped up the vegetables like you said," he smirked, holding the kitchen knife and placing it aside next to where Sebastian saw a row of neatly diced carrots and potatoes. "The other bowl has the flour. The sugar is on the side."

"I...see." This was the most he had seen out of all of them and far more than had been anticipating, which was not much by normal human standards. "I did not ask you for help with the rest, but I am relieved to know you are taking your job seriously."

"Of course! I'm a servant of the Phantomhive household after all," he saluted cheekily, and Sebastian blinked slowly as he rolled up his sleeves to work.

The demon shivered. Sebastian wondered how unpredictable the rest of his time would be if the servants had actually grown to be competent.

* * *

Thank you for the reviews. I'm really glad that some of you came back to write a message for me, which is amazing. I'm honored.


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